Bella Blvd Studio Blog

Focus On: Invisibles Specialty Papers

This week, we thought we would spend a few days focusing on our Invisibles specialty papers. We've gotten lots of requests to see how our designers are incorporating them into their projects, as some of you might be a little unsure of how to use them. We hope you'll be inspired by the ideas our Creative Team members came up with, and put them to use in your own projects. 

"Slidin", by Lisa Dickinson.

The Invisibles are such a unique product and they can really take a design over the top! For this page, I punched a grid of circles in my card stock and selected items to fill them with. In addition to patterned papers, I used Invisibles to in many of the circles and love the fun see-through effect they give. To cut them, I used my circle cutter to first score the material, and then cut the circles with scissors along the scores lines. Since the Invisibles and papers are adhered on the back side of my page, the edges don’t need to be perfectly clean.

Supplies:
Tiny Tots: Flashcards Y-Z, Toy Chest, Watch Me Grow, Sweet & Sassy; Color Chaos: Guacamole Strandz, Bell Pepper Strandz; Star Student: Schoolyard, Art Journal; Riley: Friendly Felines, Borders; Rover: Borders; Just Add Color: Dotty; Invisibles: Flower Fancy, Woodlands, Click Click, A Day At A Time, Amore, First Love, Pink Posies, Star Student; Little Bits: Bell Pepper, McIntosh; Ciao Chip Elements: Hearts & Stars, Symbols, WhatNots; Enamel Dots: Cotton Candy, McIntosh; Enamel DooDads: Cotton Candy, McIntosh

"She's Rad", by Kristine Davidson.

My niece is growing up so fast. My goodness! I like to think that she's pretty RAD! She makes me laugh and love that comedic quality about her. I used some Bella Blvd Invisibles on this page but first I cut out a pie chart with my silhouette and filled in the empty slots with invisibles! I sewed them on and created a pretty cool black and white background. I didn't want the page to be just black and white so I used the Just Add Color collection and added some pops of color on my page. I just used one sheet of paper - Daily Details and cut up pieces of paper to fit my page. Love that! I framed my white background with a black piece of cardstock and added some paint splats. The title in pink was perfect and using the Amorie and Sienna chipboard alphas make it so easy to make a cool title!

Supplies:
Just Add Color: Daily Details, Treasures & Text, Trinkets Full Color; Invisibles: A Day At A Time, Click, Referee, Brilliant; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Frosting; Amorie Chipboard Alphas: Peep; Enamel Dots: Blueberry

Focus On: Invisibles Specialty Papers

This week, we thought we would spend a few days focusing on our Invisibles specialty papers. We've gotten lots of requests to see how our designers are incorporating them into their projects, as some of you might be a little unsure of how to use them. We hope you'll be inspired by the ideas our Creative Team members came up with, and put them to use in your own projects. 

"Peace, Love & Sunflowers", by Kat Benjamin.

I love the Invisibles, but I know it can be hard to figure out how to work them into a layout. I did this in 3 different ways: I layered part of an invisible over my patterned paper to add a little bit more texture, I fussy cut 3 different invisibles and scattered the cutouts around my page or put them in my title and I placed an invisible underneath a die cut title to add more interest. I love that invisibles are just that - invisible! I think they add so much interest to a page when you can see the patterned paper behind them.

Supplies:
Color Chaos: Bell Pepper Strandz, Guacomole Strandz, Treasures & Text; Invisibles: Blessings, Love, Chit Chat, Awesome Blossom; Ciao Chip Elements: Symbols; Crochet Hearts: Scallop; Enamel Dots: Bell Pepper; Enamel DooDads: Guacamole; Bella Bows: Bell Pepper

“Minion Love”, by Jennifer Chapin.

I'm not sure about your house, but right now at mine, my kids are obsessed with all things Minion! I had this photo of my son with all his Minion gear and wanted to scrapbook it. Lately I have also been having fun mixing up my page sizes; this page is actually a 6x8. At first the smaller scale may seem a little intimidating, but I encourage you to give it a chance and try it out! For my focus on Invisibles, I used the Chit Chat transparency for the background and the Brilliant star pattern to back the photo. I incorporated lots of yellow with the black and white, and also added a Minion tag from the hat my son has. Don't feel limited either by the shapes that the Invisibles come in -- they are great to add as a whole to a 12x12 layout, but my favorite thing to do is cut them up to use bits and pieces on projects! I have a guillotine-style paper trimmer, and they cut like butter. If you don't have a cutter that will work, just go ahead and use a pair of sharp scissors which does the trick as well. I hope you will try some creative ways to use them soon!

Supplies:
Invisibles: Brilliant, Chit Chat; Color Chaos: Bell Pepper Strandz; Ciao Chip Elements: WhatNots, Hearts & Stars; Amorie Chipboard Alphas: White; Enamel Dots: Bell Pepper

Focus On: Invisibles Specialty Papers

This week, we thought we would spend a few days focusing on our Invisibles specialty papers. We've gotten lots of requests to see how our designers are incorporating them into their projects, as some of you might be a little unsure of how to use them. We hope you'll be inspired by the ideas our Creative Team members came up with, and put them to use in your own projects. 

"LHP", by Jennie McGarvey.

The Invisibles are such a fun projects -- I really love how sturdy they are and how that sturdiness makes them perfect for a variety of things.  I've used them for inserts in my pocket page album, for mini album covers and now for wall art. Though it's not obviously that, it can just slide into a page protector in an album when I'm finished with it on the wall.

Supplies:
Invisibles: Brilliant; Color Chaos: Treasures & Text, Orange Strandz; Enamel DooDads: Milk White, Oreo; Ciao Chip Elements: Hearts & Stars

“You're a Star” card, by Corri Garza.

This card was designed around the "You're a Star" square. I layered the Brilliant Invisible sheet over the Pepper Strandz sheet and added an enamel star to each of the black stars. I love the pops of red with the yellow and black! 

Supplies:
Star Student: Geek Chic, Daily Details, Trinkets; Color Chaos: Pepper Strandz; Invisibles: Brilliant; Enamel DooDads: McIntosh

“Be Bright” card, by Corri Garza.

I loved the multi colored stars on the Star Student Invisibles. I trimmed and layered it on white cardstock. I added the light bulb card, a Bella Bow and the star sticker. The black card base and black mat on the card add contrast and make the colors pop!

Supplies:
Star Student: Daily Details, Treasures & Text; Invisibles: Star Student; Bella Bows: Bell Pepper

Bella Blvd & Illustrated Faith: Mixed Media In The Margins Of Your Bible

Hi there! Shanna Noel here and I am excited to be back for another opportunity to share what I am working on in the margins of my bible. 

When I am reading through my bible and a verse just pops out at me and I see a thousand Illustrations in my head I know YES that is the one! One of the first things I do is pull out whatever may have come to mind for me in this verse (Nehemiah 9:6) talks about heaven and these stars came to mind! So I cut some starts out of the 3x4 journaling cards in the Whatever is Lovely collection. Those little cards are perfect for cutting out shapes!  From there I gather other things in the same colors I plan to use (orange yellow and pinks in this case).

The first step I make after reading through the verse is pray about it, ponder what I am taking in during this time you can also lay down some mixed media elements. For this entry I used a stencil and just paint splatters. You are creating some layers here to build on so nothing has to be perfect it will just add some visual interest. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE black and white paper because it means you get to add the color if you want to! Here I have added a bit of pink, orange and yellow watercolor to the paper to tie it into the mixed media layer we created directly on the page. 

From there I knew I wanted to bring in more texture so I brought in some embroidery floss in the same colors I am already working in. I just take a bit, split it up, mess it up and stick it behind the stars using a tiny attacher to bring it all together. 

See, fun… right?! I also added that fun little mercy sticker there as a title for my journaling. 

Now it’s time to journal. Sometimes I want my journal to be clear and thought out, other times messy and in the background. It was certainly a messy time and I love that the journaling just becomes a part of the composition in this one! From there I simply add at tab and a date and I am done! 

Thank you so much for having me, I hope you are enjoying Illustrating YOUR Faith!! And make sure to use #illustratedfaith so we can check out what you are up to!

Supplies:
IF Whatever Is Lovely: 3x4's, Little Bits, Treasures & Text; Illustrated Faith: Bible Mat, Pen

Focus On: Invisibles Specialty Papers

This week, we thought we would spend a few days focusing on our Invisibles specialty papers. We've gotten lots of requests to see how our designers are incorporating them into their projects, as some of you might be a little unsure of how to use them. We hope you'll be inspired by the ideas our Creative Team members came up with, and put them to use in your own projects. 

"Ears" by Leanne Allinson.

When putting this layout together, I knew I wanted to create a fun title! I wanted it to be large and I wanted the title to have layers - much like you would see on an illustration of a bunny rabbit.  With the Simply Spring collection and the fabulous Color Chaos Invisibles range I've created a fun look held together with hand stitching!

The first step was to select my patterned papers and cut large title letters with my silhouette. I followed the same procedure when cutting the letters from the transparent sheets of Invisibles. Before choosing which letter would be layered with which Invisible sheet, I made certain I could see both the patterned paper and Invisibles features. To finish off the title, I pre-pierced holes through both layers and hand stitched with coordinating thread.

Supplies:
Simply Spring: Daily Details, Gingham, Spring Patchwork, Sunshine, Treasures & Text, Chipboard Icons; Campout: Borders; Invisibles: Click Click, Blessings, Chit Chat, A Day At A Time; Little Bits: Ice; Enamel Dots: Cotton Candy; Bella Bows: Milk White; Crochet Hearts: Bell Pepper; Ciao Chip Elements: Flowers & Clouds, Borders

“Cute & So Sweet”, by Julia Akinina.

The best way to use the Invisibles is to create a layout. I cut my Invisible sheet and used only 1/3 of it. It's important to use paper without a busy pattern as a background of the layout, because the pattern on the invisibles is too complicated. Collection Kit bonus pattern paper suits perfectly to my layout! Then I decided to add a little more color and chose red patterned paper and embellishments. Finally I created a title from the red chipboard alphas and black sticker alphas.

Supplies:
Color Chaos: Gulf Strandz, Pickle Juice Strandz, Words of Wisdom, Treasures & Text, Trinkets, Collection Kit Bonus Paper; Just Add Color: Treasures & Text; Ciao Chip Elements: Flowers & Clouds; Amorie Chipboard Alphas: McIntosh; Little Bits: McIntosh; Invisibles: Blessings; Enamel Dots: McIntosh, Oreo Black

Fabric Style

Today we are switching things up, and instead of featuring projects using our paper collections, we are sharing projects created with our fabric collections!

Fabric Tote Bag, by Christine Ousley.

Hello everyone, today I want to share a fun tote that I made to take to crops. It has all kinds of pockets and is big enough to hold scrapbook supplies and my trimmer. I used 4 or 5 different prints from the Snapshot fabric collection by Bella Blvd by Riley Blake to make it.

Really it wasn’t a hard bag to make at all. The hardest thing to do on this tote was actually not hard, but just time consuming. Each piece was cut out of fabric, interfacing, and fusible fleece. The triple layers make the tote nice and sturdy.

It’s amazing how much you can fit in there. I just love all of the pockets. Next time I will probably make the pockets have a few more divisions in them so I’ll have places for pens and make the smaller pockets on the front a little deeper as well.

You could really have some fun "blinging it up" as well with embellishments. I sewed some bright pink ric rac on the front and back pockets but I think some appliqué, monogramming or hot fix rhinestones would be fun as well. Safe to say, I’ll be stylin’ with my new Bella Blvd Snapshots tote the next time I go to a crop. How fun!

Supplies:
Bella Blvd Snapshots fabric by Riley Blake Designs; Pellon Interfacing; Pellon Fusible Fleece; Simplicity Pattern - SO614

Zippered Pouches, by Nichol Magouirk.

Little zippered pouches are a great way to store anything from a little on-the-go sewing kit to cosmetics or other essentials. Tuck one in a to-go bag and you’re all set! 

I love to use them in my sewing room to store binding clips, safety pins for basting and other sewing tools. Sorting everything into their own bag makes it easy to grab just what I need for any given project. I also keep a small bag handy with needles, thread and small scissors for that I can grab for those evenings when I’m sitting on the couch watching TV and sewing on bindings, etc.

I grabbed a bunch of scraps of my favorite Bella Blvd floral, hearts, and polka dot fabrics that match the wonderful Military Max Plaid yardage and sewed up five of zippered bags using THIS pattern. I had previously purchased this pattern and sewn some bags so I knew I liked it however if you’re looking to try out a zippered bag I’ve found a couple tutorials online that look good. THIS one is for a large zippered bag (similar to the largest one I made) and THIS one says it’s good for beginners and doesn’t have the boxed corners on the bottom. A search on Pinterest will show you many more tutorials and patterns as well! 

I really love how well this plaid fabric coordinates with some of my all-time favorite prints from past Bella Blvd collections! I made my bags more feminine but you could easily change up the top print on any of these for more masculine bags.

Each bag is lined with a coordinating Bella Blvd pattern or solid. Consider lining the bags with a laminated fabric if you’re going to be using them for cosmetics.

These little bags sew up so easy and fast and you will be addicted to sewing up bags with all your fabric scraps! 

Supplies:
Bella Blvd Military Max fabric by Riley Blake Designs (plaid); Bella Blvd Sunny Happy Skies fabric by Riley Blake Designs (floral, polka dot, green floral); Bella Blvd Snapshots fabrics by Riley Blake Designs (hearts orange, hearts multi); Bella Blvd Puppy Park fabric by Riley Blake Designs (blue solid)

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Riley Blake Designs markets our fabrics under Stephanie Hunt as the designer. When purchasing or searching the Riley Blake website it's actually easier & more efficient to find the Bella Blvd fabrics under "Stephanie Hunt" as the artist.

Focus On: Bella Bows

This week, we asked our designers to focus on our Bella Bows when creating their projects. These little felt bows are a fun little way to embellish your layouts and cards. We thought it would be fun to see what creative ways our Creative Team members came up with to incorporate them into their projects. 

“Hello Adventure”, by Stephanie Buice.

For this layout I decided to do a large banner at the top of my page. Since my assignment was to focus on bows I had to be a little creative to fit as many on here as I could. I ended up using the bows to anchor the ends of my banner. I really like that they come in so many colors, it makes it easy to match almost any page. After I chose which bows I wanted to use, I started layering in my papers and embellishments then added in my photos and title. I added in some of the cutest flamingo paper from the new Valentina collection to the bottom of my page and finished it off by adding a gulf bow to the bottom.

Supplies:
Color Chaos: Oreo Black Strandz; Valentina: Love; Whatever Is Lovely: Praise Worthy, Lovely; Summer Squeeze: Treasures & Text; Molly: Paper Pieces, Candid Cards, Treasures & Text; Campout: Chipboard Icons; Enamel Dots: Ice, Cotton Candy, Punch, Bell Pepper, Guacamole; Ciao Chip Elements: Hearts & Stars, Flowers & Clouds, Symbols; Bella Bows: Milk White, Punch, Pickle Juice, Gulf

“That Smile”, by Kristine Davidson.

I've always loved the little felt bows, for some reason I haven't used any on my layouts. I've just used them to decorate a few pieces in my scrapbook room. I must say I really like the big pop of color they create.

Supplies:
Tiny Tots: Toy Chest, Watch Me Grow, Busy Bee, Alphabet Soup, Flashcards A-L, Chipboard Icons; Amorie Chipboard Alphas: Blueberry; Ciao Chip Elements: Hearts & Stars; Enamel Dots: Guacamole; Bella Bows: Bell Pepper

Focus On: Bella Bows

This week, we asked our designers to focus on our Bella Bows when creating their projects. These little felt bows are a fun little way to embellish your layouts and cards. We thought it would be fun to see what creative ways our Creative Team members came up with to incorporate them into their projects. 

“#Love”, by Christin Grønnslett.

From time to time my 5 year old wants to have her picture taken and pose with a real smile. It doesn’t happen very often so I really have to snap away. Most of the time I get her standing with a silly pose, head tilted with her hands on her cheeks. Lying down - the hands on cheeks doesn’t look as silly. For this layout I started off by adding drops of mist in the colors I had picked out for the layout. When the mist had dried I added my layers. I use three types of adhesive when I make my layouts. I use tape behind the photo. On the layers underneath the photo I staple the papers to my cardstock. I do this to avoid moving things around when I am happy with the layers. For the loose papers and decorations that doesn’t come with adhesive I use glue.   

Supplies:
Color Chaos: Bell Peppers Strandz, McIntosh Strandz, Treasures & Text; Simply Spring: Treasures & Text; Just Add Color: Daily Details, Treasures & Text; Clear Cuts: White Woodgrain, Ice Confetti; Invisibles: Love; Little Bits: Ice; Ciao Chip Elements: Hearts & Stars, Symbols; Crochet Hearts: Cotton Candy; Feathers: Carnation; Enamel DooDads: Milk White; Bella Bows: Cotton Candy, Milk White

“Celebrate” card, by Laurie Schmidlin.

I really wanted to create a girly card, so I reached for the Tiny Tots collection and chose a paper with lots of pretty girl colors! I wanted the focal image to really pop, so I added a smaller piece of vellum over the top and then stitched it on. For the focal image, I layered a star from the Paper Pieces set, and a die cut sentiment. I trimmed the tails off of the pretty Punch Bella Bow and then added a sticker to the center. I finished by sprinkling on lots of Enamel Dots!

Supplies:
Tiny Tots: Watch Me Grow, Paper Pieces, Trinkets; Bella Bows: Punch; Enamel Dots: Ice, Cotton Candy, Punch

“Love You” card, by Laurie Schmidlin.

I really love the Candid Cards as they are perfectly sized to add to cards! I chose this pretty heart one, layered it on some Lucky Starz paper, and then added stickers and a chipboard sentiment. For the final touch, I added a McIntosh Bella Bow to the heart.

Supplies:
Lucky Starz: Ice Starz, Treasures & Text, Candid Cards; Bella Bows: McIntosh; Ciao Chip Elements: WhatNots

Focus On: Bella Bows

This week, we asked our designers to focus on our Bella Bows when creating their projects. These little felt bows are a fun little way to embellish your layouts and cards. We thought it would be fun to see what creative ways our Creative Team members came up with to incorporate them into their projects. 

“Forever My Little Girl”, by Heather Leopard.

I love looking for different ways to use products that they may not have been intended for. I enjoy using the Bella Bows on my layouts as bows but I wanted to go a different route for this layout. I decided to add some flowers to mimic the outfit my daughter was wearing on this day. I cut the loop and hanging ribbons from three bows and adhered them together to form a flower. I then backed them with larger paper flowers and leaves. Happy with the result, I created several more flowers for the page. Not wanting to waste the leftover felt bits, I used the hanging ribbon pieces as a border between my pattern paper and cardstock. I love a good challenge and this was definitely a fun one.  

Supplies:
Color Chaos: Gulf Strandz, Blueberry Strandz, Punch Strandz, Bonus Pattern; Just Add Color: Treasures & Text; Classic Calendars: Treasures & Text; Simply Spring: Treasures & Text; Hello Autumn: Treasures & Text; Amorie Chipboard Alphas: Peep; Sienna Chipboard Alpha: Frosting; Crochet Hearts: Cotton Candy; Enamel Dots: Blueberry, Milk White, Punch; Bella Bows: Blueberry, Gulf, Punch

“Love You”, by Becki Adams.

My little girl is full of life, sillies, and smiles. I wanted to create a bold layout that showed her personality. I knew that Bella Bows would make the perfect bold but feminine accent to this layout.

Supplies:
Color Chaos: Words of Wisdom, Daily Details, Scallop Strands; Just Add Color: Punch Little Bits; Star Student: Chipboard Icons; Invisibles: Love; Ciao Chip Elements: Hearts & Stars; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Ice; Designer Tape: Piggy Pink Stripe, Blue Chevron; Bella Bows: McIntosh, Punch, Bell Pepper, Guacamole, Gulf, Ice

Bella Bows cards, by Julia Akinina.

I created two simple and practically similar cards using Bella Bows, which can perfectly add some layers to the main element. I cut out the cards with text from the "words of wisdom" and "daily details" sheets. I put the bow to the center of the card and create a little accents using enamel dots. These cards are bright and positive, they can be given as a present to someone without any special case just for fun and good mood!

Supplies:
Color Chaos: Pickle Juice Strandz, Peep Strandz, Words of Wisdom, Daily Details, Trinkets;Bella Bows: Pickle Juice, Bell Pepper; Enamel Dots: Guacamole, Bell Pepper, Cotton Candy

Bella Blvd & Illustrated Faith

Washi Tape Bookmarks, byShellye McDaniel.

Today I have a super easy and fun project that would be a great kid's or adult's craft! Washi tape bookmarks.

First, you will need a 2.5"W X 9"H strip of your favorite Bella Blvd patterned paper. Next, cut one of the Clear Cut sheets to 5"W X 9"H, score in half lengthwise and fold. Place the paper strip inside of the fold and secure in place with a high tack adhesive tape.

For the front of the bookmark, strategically place the adhesive so that it's hidden behind the washi tape. Apply a strip (or strips) of washi tape to the front side of the overlay and embellish with various stickers and enamels. Punch a small hole at the top and add a knotted piece of ribbon through.  

Supplies:
Illustrated Faith: Love It stickers, Point It stickers, Label It stickers, Say It Black & White stickers, Reminders washi tape, Word Art washi tape; Color Chaos: Punch Strandz, Blueberry Strandz; Clear Cuts: White Woodgrain, Punch Confetti; Enamel Doo Dads: Ice; Enamel Dots: Milk White